FBI Releases New Details On Missing Girl; $5,000 Reward

BUTTE, MT - The search for 13-year-old Sa’Wade Birdinground continues eight months after she was last seen, as the FBI renews public calls for help by offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to her recovery.

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Sa’Wade was last seen on October 6, 2024, at her family’s home in Garryowen, Montana.

Since then, there have been no known contacts with her family or friends—a prolonged and painful silence that investigators and loved ones are desperate to break.

Her Description:

She is described as 5’4” to 5’5” tall, weighing between 130 and 140 pounds, with brown eyes and brown, curly hair. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a black hoodie adorned with mushrooms, an anime t-shirt, basketball shorts, and purple slip-on Skechers.

She may have been carrying a black and purple Adidas backpack and is known to wear an elk tooth necklace—details that authorities hope may jog someone’s memory.

The case is being investigated jointly by the FBI, Crow Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement, and the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office. The collaboration draws on both local knowledge and federal resources, a reflection of how seriously the agencies are treating the case.

Efforts like these are supported by broader initiatives such as the FBI’s Operation Not Forgotten—launched in 2023—which focuses on locating missing persons in Indian Country.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs also operates a dedicated Murdered and Missing Unit to address the disproportionate rate of disappearances among Native American communities. This year, the FBI has doubled its number of special agents handling Indian Country cases in Montana, and those additional resources are now being brought to bear on Sa’Wade’s case.

The pain of a missing child ripples far beyond immediate family. In communities like Garryowen and the broader Crow Reservation, such disappearances can leave emotional scars and a lingering sense of vulnerability. That’s why federal, tribal, and local agencies say they are committed to maintaining visibility for this case and others like it.

If you or someone you know has any information—no matter how minor it may seem—the FBI urges you to report it at tips.fbi.gov or call the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office at (801) 579-6195.

Every detail matters. Every voice could be the one that brings Sa’Wade home.